(No) Looking Back

When I was learning to drive, my dad took me to this hilly old cemetery in town to teach me how to back up. Petrified, I asked “But what if I hit one?!” “Then you’ll pay for it.” I proceeded to creep backwards but kept my eyes forward, which prompted my dad to give me some of the best life advice ever:

Look where you’re going, not where you’ve been.

I’m not sure he said it to be prolific. In fact, I’m quite sure he just wanted me to use my rear view mirror but nonetheless, it’s important life advice. Taper week brings up a lot of self-doubt and a strong desire to look back. I want to look over my last Philly cycle, to see if there’s a crystal ball that will tell me what might happen on Sunday. Will has forbidden this particular activity so I’m stuck looking at the current cycle, which I think is a more productive exercise. I’ve done a lot of work. I’ve run a lot of miles. Not all of my workouts have been great, but I’m fit and not injured and most of the time, that’s all you can ask for. So without further delay, here are the workouts I’ve done in Phases 3 and 4 this year.

16 by 400

15.5 mile long run

5 by mile at tempo

8 by 800

16 mile long run

6 by 1000

2 by 2 mile at T pace

Downtown 10K in 38:33

17 miles with 6 at M pace

16 by 400

3 mile continuous tempo

5 by 1K

15 mile long run

3 by 2 mile at T pace

6 by 800

18.2 mile long run

5 by 1 mile at T pace plus 4 by 400 at R pace

4 by 1200

13.6 mile long run

5 by 1000 plus 4 by 200

15 miles with 8 at steady state pace

14 by 400

16.5 miles with 5 by 1 mile at T and 5 by 200 at R

6 by 800 plus 4 by 200

14 mile long run

5 by mile at Tempo plus 5 by 200 at R

3 by 1K plus 5 by 200

3 by 1200 at T pace plus 4 by 200 at R

With that last workout done today, nothing left to do but stay calm and rest up until Saturday!

Do you look over your training cycle to gain confidence or does it just make you more nervous?